ZONING BY-LAWS
Ashby, Massachusetts
Adopted June 20, 1979
Amended April 26,1983
June 2, 1987
April 26, 1988
June 6, 1989
November 28, 1989
June 26, 1990
September 12,1995
May 4, 1996
May 3, 1997
March 10, 1999
May 1, 1999
May 6, 2000
November 18, 2000
May 5, 2001
November 17, 2001
May 4, 2002
May 3, 2003
May 1, 2004
May 7, 2005
November 19, 2005
May 6, 2006
May 5, 2007
November 22, 2008
May 2, 2009
May 1, 2010
May 7, 2011
May 5, 2012
May 4, 2013
May 3, 2014
May 2, 2015
May 7, 2016
May 6, 2017
Fee $5.00
Last editing 9/8/2017
Contents
SECTION 1: PURPOSE
SECTION 2: DISTRICTS
SECTION 3: DEFINITIONS
SECTION 4: GENERAL PROVISIONS
4.1 Permitted Uses
4.2 Dimensional Requirements
4.3 Driveways
4.4 Parking:
4.5 Site Plan:
4.6 Accessory Apartments
SECTION 5: RESIDENTIAL
5.1 Permitted Uses:
5.2 Special Permits:
5.3 Table of Dimensional and Area Requirements:
SECTION 6: RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL
6.1 Permitted Uses in all Residential/Commercial Districts
6.2 Special Permits in all Residential/Commercial Districts:
6.3 Table of Dimensional and Area Requirements:
6.4 Residential/Commercial District A
6.5 Residential/Commercial District B
SECTION 7: RESIDENTIAL/AGRICULTURAL
7.1 Permitted Uses:
7.2 Special Permits:
7.3 Table of Dimensional and Area Requirements:
SECTION 8: INDUSTRIAL
8.1 Permitted Uses:
8.2 Special Permits:
8.3 Table of Dimensional Requirements:
SECTION 9: OVERLAY DISTRICTS AND SPECIAL PROVISIONS
NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM (NFIP)
9.1 Floodplain District Boundaries and Regulations
9.2 Personal Wireless Communications Facility
9.3 Rate of Development
9.4 Open Space Residential Development
9.5 Inclusionary Housing
9.6 Utility-Scale Wind Energy Facilities
9.7 Small Wind Energy Systems
9.8 Ashby Village Center Zoning Overlay District
9.9 Solar Energy Systems
SECTION 10: ENFORCEMENT
10.1 Permits:
10.2 Pre-existing Nonconformance
10.3 Penalty
SECTION 11: VALIDITY OF EXISTING BUILDING PERMITS
SECTION 12: ADMINISTRATION
12.1 Board of Appeals
12.3 Special Permits:
12.4 Variances:
12.5 Site Plan Permits
SECTION 13: CHANGING THE ZONING BY-LAW
ZONING BY-LAWS
TOWN OF ASHBY, MASSACHUSETTS
SECTION 1: PURPOSE
To promote the health, safety, convenience, and general welfare of its inhabitants, to protect the community, and to promote sound growth.
SECTION 2: DISTRICTS
2.1 The Town of Ashby is hereby divided into the following four classes of districts, as follows:
2.1.1 Residential--R
2.1.2 Residential/Commercial--R/C
2.1.3 Residential/Agricultural--R/A
2.1.4 Industrial--I
2.2 The boundaries of each district are hereby established as shown on the zoning map entitled, "Zoning Map, Town of Ashby, Massachusetts, Ashby Planning Board". Said map is hereinafter referred to as the Zoning Map.
2.3 Use Regulations Within Districts
2.3.1 Basic Requirements: No building, structure, or land shall be used for any purpose or in any manner other than as permitted and set forth in this by-law. Uses permitted as a matter of right and uses allowed by the Board of Appeals shall be in conformity with all dimensional requirement, and any other pertinent requirement of this by-law. Uses not mentioned are prohibited.
2.3.2 PRINCIPAL USE, ACCESSORY USE
A principal use is a main or primary use of a lot or structure. More than one principal use may be allowed on a lot, except where such use is a dwelling and provided that each principal use is permitted and the sum of such principal uses complies with the other requirements of this By-Law.
An accessory use is one that constitutes only an incidental or insubstantial part of the total activity that takes place on a lot and is commonly associated with and integrally related to the principal use.
Even though a use may be a principal use in another situation, it may be conducted as an accessory use in conjunction with another principal use provided it is insubstantial, incidental, commonly associated with and integrally related to that principal use.
SECTION 3: DEFINITIONS
In this by-law certain terms are defined as followed:
1) ANTIQUE/GIFT SHOP. A small specialty retail shop.
2) ACCESSORY APARTMENT. A dwelling unit constructed within or on an existing house. It is a unit containing a bathroom, kitchen, and living/bedroom space
3) ACCESSORY BUILDING. An unattached subordinate building, the use of which is incidental to that
of a principal building.
4) ACCESSORY USE. The use of a building or premises for a purpose customarily incidental to the main or principal use permitted in the district.
5) BANK. A place of business for keeping, lending, exchanging money and engaging in ancillary and related activities.
6) BED AND BREAKFAST. A private owner-occupied house where six or fewer rooms are let to transient guests and one meal, served before noon, is included in the rent and all accommodations are reserved in advance
7) BUILDING. Any roofed structure designed for the housing or enclosing of persons, animals, or personal property.
8) BUILDING LINE. The nearest point of the building housing the principle use of a lot to the street.
9) CAMOUFLAGED. A public wireless communications facility that is disguised, hidden or placed within an existing structure is considered camouflaged.
10) CAMP. Any land or buildings used primarily for recreational or recuperative purposes by organizations or groups of people whether or not conducted for profit.
11) CAMPGROUND. The area or place operated commercially and used for a camp, for camping, or for a camp meeting.
12) CELLAR HOLE FOUNDATION. A subsurface structure of a building, basement.
13) CEMETERY. A place or area of land, set apart for the burial of the dead, operated, managed, and controlled under the provisions of General Laws, Tercentenary edition, chapter one hundred fourteen, or a burial place under the care and supervision of the town or other public authority.
14) CLUB. An organization catering exclusively to members and their guests, or premises and buildings for recreational or athletic purposes which are not conducted primarily for gain.
15) Common Driveway A private vehicular access from a road to two lots.
16) DOG OR CAT KENNEL. A place where two or more dogs or cats are kept for business purposes.
17) DrivewayA private vehicular access from a road to no more than one lot.
18) DWELLING, ONE FAMILY. A detached building on a lot designed for and intended for occupancy by a single family whether or not for year-round or seasonal purposes, with access through the lot.
19) ELECTRIC SIGN. Any sign illuminated or otherwise powered by electricity, except those which are illuminated by floodlights.
20)FAMILY. Any number of individuals living together as a single, non-profit housekeeping unit, as distinguished from a group of individuals occupying a boarding house, lodging house, club, fraternity, or sorority.
21)FARM. A tract of land in separate ownership devoted primarily to agricultural use.
22)FLOOD-PRONE ZONE. Any potential flood risk area as presented in the map survey by the US Army Corps of Engineers dated April 29, 1977, and titled, "Flood Hazard Boundary Map" for Ashby, Massachusetts.
23)FRONTAGE. Frontage is the distance along the boundary of a lot and street. Frontage is continuous and along one street.
24)GARAGE. A building, available to the public, operated for gain, which is used for maintenance, repair, or storage of motor vehicles.
25)GASOLINE OR SERVICE STATION. Any area of land, including the structure thereon, that is used for the sale of gasoline or any other motor vehicle fuel and oil and other lubricating substances, including any sale of motor vehicle accessories, and which may or may not include facilities for lubricating, washing, maintenance, repair or storage of automobiles.
26)GOLF COURSE. An established acreage of land set aside for the game of golf.
27)GREEN HOUSE. An establishment whose purpose is to grow plants for retail use.
28)HOME OCCUPATION. Any use customarily conducted for profit by the inhabitants of a dwelling, provided such use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the building for dwelling purposes and does not change the residential character thereof.
29)HOTEL. A building containing rooms intended or designed to be used, or which are used, rented, or hired out to be occupied or which are occupied for sleeping purposes for transient guests, and where only a general kitchen and dining room are provided within the building or in an accessory building.
30)JUNK. Articles such as old iron, brass, copper, tin, lead, or other base metals, cordage, old bags, rags, waste paper, paper clippings, scraps, clips, rubber, glass, empty bottles, empty cans and all other articles discarded and no longer used as a manufactured article composed of any one or more of the materials mentioned, but which may be converted into some other product by means of some manufacturing process.
31)LIBRARY. A building or a room or rooms in a building where books or other material may be studied, read, borrowed, or rented.
32)LODGING HOUSE. A residence where lodgings are let to five or more persons not within the second of kindred to the person conducting the house, and which does not contain a public dining room or cooking facilities in any rented sleeping room.
33)LOT. A parcel of land which is or may be occupied by a principal building and its accessory buildings, which is in conformity with the dimensional and area requirements applicable to the zone in which said lot is located.
34)(deleted)
35)(deleted).
36)MOBILE HOME. A dwelling unit manufactured elsewhere, equipped with wheels or having fittings for wheels and delivered to a legal lot as a single unit or in completed modules for on site assembly, and fastened to a concrete block, poured concrete slab or similar foundation.
37)MONOPOLE. A single self supporting pole that's diameter at no point exceeds one thirtieth (1/30) of its height and that does not require above ground bracing or guy wires for support.
38)MOTEL. A building or group of buildings, detached or in connected units, designed primarily as individual sleeping units for transient guests and providing for accessory off-street parking facilities.
39)NONCONFORMING USE. Use of a building or land, existing at the time of enactment or subsequent amendment of this by-law, which does not conform to the regulations of the district in which it is situated.
40)ORCHARD. A commercial area of fruit trees.
41)PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICES. Commercial mobile radio services, unlicensed wireless services, and common carrier wireless exchange access services.
42)PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE FACILITY.Facility for the provision of personal wireless services, as defined by the Telecommunications Act.
43)RIGHT OF WAY OF STREET. When a strip of land within which is located
a) a public way or a way which the Town Clerk certifies is maintained and used as a public way, or
b) a way is shown on a plan theretofore approved and endorsed in accordance with the Subdivision Control law, Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 41, Section 81K to GG inclusive.
44)SETBACK. The minimum required unoccupied space or area between the streetline on which the building is numbered or would be numbered, and the part of the building nearest such street line, such unoccupied space or area extending the entire width or distance across the lot.
45)SIGN. Any device for visual communication that is used for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to the attention of the public, but not including any flag, badge, or insignia of any government or government agency, or of any civic, charitable, religious, fraternal, or similar organization.
46) STABLE (RIDING). A building or group of buildings where one or more horses or ponies are kept for sale, rent, hire, or instruction.
47)STREET. (Road, Way). A public way accepted by the Town and certified as such by the Town Clerk or a way shown on a subdivision plan approved in accordance with the Subdivision Control Law or a way in existence when the subdivision control became effective in the Town of Ashby having, in the opinion of the Planning Board, suitable width, suitable grade and adequate construction to provide for the needs of vehicular traffic in relation to the proposed use of the abutting land thereon or served by and for the installation of municipal services to serve the land and buildings erected or to be erected thereon.
48)STREET CENTER.Center line of street.
49)STREET LINE. Edge of right-of-way of roadway or street.
50)STRUCTURE. Anything constructed or erected which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having location on the ground, including signs and billboards, but not including fences or walls used as fences.
51) TRAVEL TRAILER. Any unit used for living or sleeping purposes and which is equipped with permanently attached wheels or similar devices used for purposes of transporting said unit from place to place.
52)TREE NURSERY. A commercial establishment where trees are grown for retail purposes.
53)TRUCK GARDEN.A commercial vegetable farm.
54)USE. The purpose for which a building or tract of land is designed, arranged or intended, or for which a building or tract of land is or may be arranged.
55)VARIANCE. An exception allowed by the Board of Appeals in the case of an individual property owner where strict enforcement of this by-law would create a hardship or would not be in the best interests of the Town.
56)WOODLOT. An area of trees grown for commercial value.
SECTION 4: GENERAL PROVISIONS
4.1 Permitted Uses
The following shall be permitted uses in all zoned districts as are shown on the Map of Proposed Zoning (Revised June 1978):
4.1.1 Agriculture on land parcels greater than five (5) acresor toparcels 2 acres or more, if the sale of products produced from the agriculture, aquaculture,silviculture, horticulture, floriculture or viticulture use on the parcel annually generates at least$1,000 per acre based on gross sales dollars,
4.1.2 Municipal, Educational, Religious uses.
4.2 Dimensional Requirements
4.2.1Heights: Buildings shall not exceed forty (40) feet (12.18 meters) in height. This provision shall not apply to significant traditional accessory appurtenances such as steeples and bell towers.
4.2.2 Setback: Buildings shall have a setback of at least seventy-five (75) feet (22.85 meters) from the center of the street.
4.2.3Building Area: Building area shall not exceed thirty-five percent (35%) of the lot area.
4.2.4 (Deleted)
4.2.5 Landscaping: The front setback and side yard areas of any building shall be provided with grass lawns, shrubbery or other landscaping.
4.2.6 Every building lot shall contain an area of at least 60% of the minimum required lot area in the district that is not wetlands as defined in CMR 33.
4.2.7 Not less than one hundred and ten (110) feet between the lot lines shall be maintained to the building line as measured perpendicular to the lot lines. This section shall not apply to reduced frontage lots in section 7.2.10.
4.3 Driveways
4.3.1 Any driveway or common driveway, shall be constructed only after obtaining approval for such construction and connection with the abutting public way, or other right of way, from the Planning Board, or its agent. Such connection shall provide for adequate drainage, both for the new connection and the existing right-of-way. All such new connections must be approved by the Ashby Highway Department Superintendent or his agent or in the case of the State or Federal right-of-ways, the appropriate official of said Agency. In order to provide for the safety, convenience and welfare of the inhabitants, driveways with a proposed grade of more than 12% must obtain a special permit from the Planning Board prior to construction. A special permit may be granted by the Planning Board if the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board that no alternative route is practical, that potential for erosion is minimized, and that emergency vehicles have practical access to the site. No driveway or connection may be constructed in any manner that would hinder access by emergency vehicles.
4.3.2 No more than two lots served by any one common driveway.
4.3.3 No common driveway shall exceed 800 feet in length, and shall have sufficient provision for vehicle turn around.
4.4 Parking:
All off street parking shall conform to the following design and schedule of parking uses.
4.4.1 Design of Off-Street Parking and Loading Spaces:
All off street parking spaces, open or enclosed, shall consist of 200 square feet of appropriate dimensions, exclusive of drives or aisles. All required parking spaces shall be at least 15 feet from street lines, and shall be maintained to permit their use at all times. All required parking spaces shall be on the same lot as the use served thereby, except that unenclosed spaces may be within 200 feet of the lot.
Common parking areas may be permitted for the purpose of serving uses on separate lots provided that:
1) the combined amount of parking is not less than the sum of the requirement for each use separately,
2) it is evident that such common facility will remain available for the several buildings or uses,
3)that the several buildings or uses are so closely related, that it is unlikely that any one or more of the uses will change in kind or extent so as to substantially increase the parking requirement of the common area,
4) if any use does not abut the common parking area, such use shall not be located at a distance greater than 500 feet from the common parking area.
4.4.1.1 Required off-street parking and loading spaces shall not hereafter be reduced.
4.4.1.2 Required off-street parking and loading spaces shall have adequate access to the street. Street accesses shall not be located closer than 200 feet apart, and shall be provided with separate entrance and exit lanes.
4.4.1.3 All off-street parking and loading areas shall be paved according to specifications prepared by the Planning Board and contained in the Planning Board Rules and Regulations, except that a stand for the sale of farm products may have a gravel surface parking area.
4.4.1.4 All required parking and loading areas used after sundown shall be lighted during use with the lighting arranged so as not to shine on abutting properties or streets, nor in any way creating a hazard or nuisance.
4.4.2 Schedule of Parking Uses and Spaces Required
Accessory Apartment One space per bedroom
Hotel, Inn or Motel One space for each bedroom plus one space for each employee on the largest shift.
Educational One space for each staff position plus one space for each five persons of rated capacity of the largest auditorium plus one space for each student vehicle which can be expected at any one time based on average daily attendance on the premises.
Nursing Home One space for each two beds plus one space for each employee on the largest shift.
Retail Store, General and Personal Services One space for each 180 square feet of net floor area.
Professional Office, Bank One space for each 200 square feet of net floor area.